Unstoppable Türkiye clinch first-ever FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League gold medal
Recap
With an impressive consistency throughout the whole competition and a nearly flawless display in the final round, which took place over the last week in Arlington, the United States of America, Türkiye clinched their first-ever gold medal in the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, after a 3:1 win in the final against the People’s Republic of China.
It was the biggest success for Türkiye women’s senior national team in history and it had plenty to do with 23-year-old opposite Melissa Vargas, who slotted into the team in superb fashion, after making her debut a few months ago.
Vargas already displayed some impressive skills in the preliminary round, but truly shined in the final round, leading by example, especially in the final against China, where she led all scorers with 26 points (21 kills, three aces, two blocks). In fact, she was truly unstoppable, having the largest number of points – 65 – in the final round, while also boasting the largest number of aces, five, in 48 serves.
Eight teams lined up over the past week in Arlington, Texas for the final round of the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, with two former winners, hosts USA and Italy, but Türkiye was starring, eliminating both sides, in the quarter-final and in the semi-final.
Italy, the reigning European champions, had an up and down form throughout the whole year, and this was on display in the quarter-finals, where Türkiye totally dominated, taking a clear 3:0 (25:20, 25:15, 25:18) win, as the former winners of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League were eliminated.
Poland, one of the in-form sides in the preliminary round, also made the semi-finals, with a 3:1 win over Germany, as Magdalena Stysiak shined once again in a well-balanced match, which started with a 25:12 win in the first set for Poland, only for Germany to tie the game after a 25:21 win in the second set. Eventually, Poland secured the next two sets, 25:21 and 26:24 to qualify for the semi-finals.
However, they had little chance in the match against China, losing in straight sets, despite Stysiak’s heroics, with the second-best scorer in the final round failing to stop a painful defeat.
Hosts USA tried their utmost to stop Türkiye in the semi-final, yet the writing was on the wall in the first two sets, which went to the European side, 25:21 and 25:14. Boosted by their fans, USA came back and took a 26:24 win in the third set, only for Vargas to be unstoppable in the next one and clinch a hard-fought 27:25 with a finals berth looming.
After two evenly-matched first sets in the final against China, 25:22 and 22:25, Türkiye proved to be flawless in the next two, 25:19 and 25:16, as Vargas shined in attack, but also in defence, where Zehra Güneş delivered a superb game, helping their side strike gold for the first time in history.
Therefore, Türkiye completed the set of medals in the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, after the silver and bronze medals won in the VNL in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
Eda Erdem“I just can’t believe it, it doesn’t feel real. I’ve been representing my country since 2005 and there’s been so much sacrifice, so much sadness and so much joy. It’s been a long journey and I think that this year, with coach Santarelli, he made us believe we could be the champions. He helped us grow and remember who we are. I’m so proud of my team, we made history, we waited for it for so long,”
Türkiye captain
Poland clinched the bronze medals with a 3:2 win over the United States, as Europe was represented by two sides on the podium in this edition of the competition.
Vargas was named the MVP of the VNL edition, as well as the best opposite spiker, Poland’s Martyna Łukasik was the best outside spiker, while Türkiye’s Gizem Örge and Zehra Güneş were the best libero and the best middle blocker respectively.